Edmond Gabriel Kalandadze: Thinking in Colour

Art Gallery Vanda presents the jubilee exhibition “Thinking in Colour,” dedicated to Edmond Gabriel Kalandadze’s 100th birthday, which will be hosted by the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery on July 7, 2023, at 19:00. The project is organised by Art Gallery Vanda and the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery and is curated by Vanda Mujiri. The exhibition will last until August 5, 2023. Within the framework of the project, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth of Georgia, the anniversary catalogue of Edmond Gabriel Kalandadze is being prepared, the presentation of which will be held in the autumn.
In total, the exhibition will present up to 70 paintings and graphic works by Edmond Gabriel Kalandadze from the collections of the Dimitri Shevardnadze National Gallery and the Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, as well as the artist’s family and private collections.

Edmond Kalandadze played a decisive role in the creation of a new stage of Georgian art at the end of the 1950s, during the Thaw period. A member of the prominent generation of artists that would cause a revolution in Georgian art, Kalandadze brought to the fore the importance of introducing a new way of analysing existence and renewing the language of artistic expression.

By viewing the most important achievements of classic and modern art through the prism of his worldview, he created his unique style, giving form to a special world that is first of all associated with colour — his language of communication, expression, and the search for certain emotions.
It was as if he had a special crystal, with the help of which he saw reality like nobody else, and even nowadays, his view is mesmerising. The palette of colours that he used in his works and their power of expressiveness are the main basis of his paintings. They express his ideas and feelings and awaken strong emotions in those who view his paintings, who are given the ability to see the world in a new way. The diversity and volume of Kalandadze’s artistic legacy are very impressive. He created thousands of sketches, landscapes, portraits, and still lives. Kalandadze’s sonorous and vivid creations are a hymn to his love for his country and together form one of the most impressive pages of the history of Georgian art.

The exhibition “Thinking in Colour” is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Edmond Kalandadze’s birth and is a retrospective of his work. We believe that the exposition, which blends his famous canvases with the works that will be seen by the general public for the first time, will create the best opportunity for admirers of Edmond Kalandadze’s art and the young generation to get to know the unique art of this outstanding figure better.